Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 40,899 complaints - component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Incident date: Feb 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 40–55 MPH, the vehicle started bucking. The driver was able to pull over and oil light was illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the oil pump had failed and caused the engine to be blown. The vehicle was repaired. The Insurance Company covered the r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated while her nephew was driving at an undisclosed speed, he noticed smoke coming from the front and rear of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The contact’s nephew pulled off the road to lift the hood of the vehicle where he saw flames.... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jan 29, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated. The check engine, oil, and engine failure warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. In ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that an unknown fluid was leaking from the vehicle in two locations. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and informed about a possible catalytic converter failure. The mechanic blew out the parts. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the valve cover g... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil pressure warn... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine made an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the connecting rod bearing was knocking, and the dealer recommended replacing the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle was overheating. The contact veered to the side of the road. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that there was sufficient coolant in the coolant reservoir, but there was no coolant in the radiator. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, prompting the contact to pull to the shoulder of the roadway and cease driving the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump, resulting in damage to the engine. The vehicle was not... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power with a message indicating an engine failure was displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine had seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed the residence of the con... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
C300
(2016) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 16, 2024
Incident date: Dec 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was hesitating while accelerating, with white smoke coming from the exhaust. The check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was present inside the engine cylinders. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the low engine pressure warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cool... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2020
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the independent mechanic repair shop for routine maintenance, he was informed that the vehicle had been experiencing excessive coolant consumption. The mechanic determined that the coolant was leaking and burning and that the failure could be related to the turbocharger. The contact stated that he had also noticed... Read more
Incident date: Dec 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while his grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine started... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated that after driving and parking the vehicle, upon restarting the vehicle, the oil pressure warning light illuminated. There was a puddle of oil near the vehicle. While driving 35–40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and shutoff. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the oil drain plug was missing. The dealer... Read more
Incident date: Mar 13, 2020
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that when he started the vehicle in the mornings he noticed that it would idle roughly and large amounts of white exhaust was issued from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the check engine light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact noted that the vehicle was consuming unusual amounts of coolant that required him to fill the cool... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Edge. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle was vibrating abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant was discovered in cylinder #1, causing a crack in the engine long block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. Additionally, th... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the camshaft sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The camshaft sensor was replaced but the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufac... Read more
JEEP
GRAND WAGONEER
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 15, 2024
Incident date: Oct 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 50 MPH. The contact was able to pull off the roadway, where the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump which caused damage to th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH and attempting to depress the brake pedal to come to a stop at a STOP sign, the brake pedal was stiff and failed to depress as needed. The low oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact engaged the electric parking brake and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that he drove to the nearby mechanic, wh... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into cylinder #1. The vehicle failure related to TSB: [XXX] with NHTSA ID Number: 10214126 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not inc... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the engine temperature gauge had increased to "HOT”, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that coolant had leaked into the engine causing damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufa... Read more
Incident date: Sep 21, 2019
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving and accelerating from 10-30 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, and while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was dia... Read more
Incident date: Dec 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact h... Read more
HONDA
CR-V HYBRID
(2024) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 14, 2024
Incident date: Dec 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over, opened the hood, and added additional oil. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed him that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or re... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Acura TLX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recalls repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle only responded as needed when the accelerator p... Read more
Incident date: Jan 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was adding additional oil after driving for thirty minutes. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA C... Read more
Incident date: Feb 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had n... Read more
VOLKSWAGEN
JETTA
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 14, 2024
Incident date: Jan 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the EVAP failure message was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the high-pressure fuel pump, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was later driven to the ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that coolant intrusion into the cylinder bores had damaged the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, she heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle, after which the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the contact observed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact turned off the vehicle, after which the vehicle failed to r... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford EcoSport The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil pressure pump warning l... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving at approximatel... Read more
LAND ROVER
RANGE ROVER
(2023) - ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Feb 13, 2024
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the engine compartment, he became aware that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine needed to be programmed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V905000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warni... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Taos. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light and engine oil light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed and determined that the head gasket was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage wa... Read more
Incident date: Mar 31, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Ford EcoSport. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 30 MPH and the vehicle started to jerk. The oil light was flashing. The low oil pressure message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer and was informed about having a diagnostic test performed. The dealer informed the contact that there were no loaner vehicles available. The vehi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was inspected, and the contact became aware that the coolant reservoir was low; however, after refilling the coolant reservoir, the light remained illuminated. The contact noticed liquid coming from the tailpipes of the vehicle as well. The vehicle was taken to an independent mech... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2024
Engine warning light came on while driving. Vehicle is operable but service department has indicated coolant intrusion needs new engine short block replaced to operate the vehicle. This is our only transportation and we have been advised not to drive the vehicle as the engine could seize up at any time.
Incident date: Feb 10, 2024
Background: My 2017 Ford Escape Titanium with a 2.0L Ecoboost engine has 65k miles. Engine light started flashing recently due to Cylinder missfire code P0301 , immediately brought it into Ford and upon their assessment they shared that my engine has a coolant leak in cylinder 1 which is causing major engine issues. This is my primary car and I need it to transport myself to and from work. I have ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that coolant had intruded into the engine block. Ad... Read more
Incident date: Oct 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle went into Safe Mode and shut off. The vehicle stalled on three occasions. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle was running rough. The contact stated that the service and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotl... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating and was idling roughly. The contact stated that the check engine warning was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the coolant reservoir was refilled weekly. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a lo... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2020
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. Additionally, the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The dealer later called the contact and informed the contact that th... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2023
2017 Ford Edge 2.0 Ecoboost engine failed. Car is 6 years old and two shops have confirmed it needs to be totally replaced due to coolant intrusion. Currently still drivable, but is burning through Coolant and per dealership can be a fire hazard. Confirmed by Ford dealership. Check engine light turned on and car has 72,000 miles.
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pump belt tensioner. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Camp... Read more